Protecting the edges of your woodcarving knives

Oh!

We all have. I used a carving knife to pry open the lid of the Donut box, got up to answer the phone with a chisel on our knee only to have it fall to the floor and ruin the edge. (and then to make matters worse, he was just a telemarketer!) Things like this happen to all of us and then we wonder why our tools get boring. If we can learn to prevent these things from happening, the life of our tools will increase dramatically.

Things that can damage your edges

Sandpaper. Sandpaper is probably the worst on any edge. It contains the same aluminum oxide or silicon carbide particles that help create your knife’s edge in the first place. When carving a piece that will eventually need to be sanded, carve as close to the finish as possible without using sandpaper. After you start sanding your carving, you really can’t go back to carving again. When you sand, you are leaving these abrasive sandpaper particles in and on your carving which, when you use your knife to touch up an area that has been sanded, will wear down the edge and dull it.

Other tools. Most of the time, these tools have gone through an extensive heat treatment process to harden them. When they collide with each other, they become boring.

Misuse of your tools. I have done this myself. I’ve gotten to the point where I can start sanding down my carving and I used my carving knife to… yes, cut the sandpaper into smaller pieces. don’t. Have a razor to do this.

The table or bench. Tools roll or are pushed from the table to the floor. (that damn cat!)

Place your knives in a tray with a rubber drawer liner glued to the bottom to prevent the tray from sliding. I bought my siding at Home Depot for $2.50 for 6 feet. roll.

Whose

Store your knives and chisels together in the same compartment. You should have a compartment for each individual tool. When you keep these tools in the same compartment, the hard steel of these tools collides as you walk to the car after the carving club meeting and dulls.

Store the sandpaper with your knives, put your sandpaper in a separate container. Those particles fall into your bag or box and wear out your tools.

Do…

Have a junk razor in your bag. Use this knife to cut through sandpaper, cut through super glue, or remove paint from nails.

Put your tools back in places that prevent them from rolling off the table or bumping into each other.

Keep a blade in your tools. If you do this, you can store your tools together.

Covers: I have seen many solutions.

You can use wine corks for your chisels and knives.

Woodcarving Illustrated has had projects to carve their own holsters in the shapes of thumbs, ducks, etc.

Styrofoam – Just cut a block longer than the blade and glue it down.

FoamCore – Go to your local picture framer and order some foamcore cutouts. It is a sheet of styrofoam with paper on both sides. It even comes in colors. You can then cut it to fit your tools.

Leather: Glue a piece of leather to wrap around the blade.

Phone books: I saw a woman at a show who rolled up a phone book and taped it together to stick the blades of her knife into the end between the pages.

We all take the time to learn how to get the most out of our tools, now let’s protect them!

See this and more articles on woodcarving knives at www.DeepwoodsVentures.com

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